


Peace Like a River

by thatoldeblackmagic



Category: Natsume Yuujinchou | Natsume's Book of Friends
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Mentions of blood but not a lot, touko is a good mom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-10
Updated: 2017-07-10
Packaged: 2018-11-30 03:52:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11455404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatoldeblackmagic/pseuds/thatoldeblackmagic
Summary: His frozen toes catch on the edge of the flooring and he tumbles down with a loud thud onto the wood floor.  Almost immediately, a light flicks on from the living room and he hears a soft voice call out, “Takashi? Is that you?”or Touko defends her title as mom of the year





	Peace Like a River

As Takashi runs home in the frigid darkness, it begins to snow.

Another youkai had cornered him, demanding the book of friends and had been quick enough to strike first. This youkai was persistent and violent and, of course, Nyanko-sensei was nowhere to be found. After hours of a brutal game of cat and mouse, Takashi finally managed to slip past and ran as quickly as he could for home.

Now it is very late, and he is very cold. He arrives at the house out of breath and bloodied with snowflakes clinging to his clothes. It takes a lot of effort for him to stay quiet when his breaths are coming out as wheezes and his fingers are too numb to perform basic motor skills. Still, he slowly and carefully slides open the front door and removes his shoes and jacket, placing them in a pile on the ground and vowing to fix them later, preferably when he has feeling in his hands. For about a split second, he seriously thinks he can make it to his bedroom without incident.

It’s the step up from the genkan that gets him. 

His frozen toes catch on the edge of the flooring and he tumbles down with a loud thud onto the wood floor. Almost immediately, a light flicks on from the living room and he hears a soft voice call out, “Takashi? Is that you?”

He scrambles to sit up and makes a vain attempt to wipe some of the dried blood from the corner of his mouth just as the door in front of him slides open. With a flood of light, Touko stands before him. 

Once his eyes adjust, Takashi can tell that she hasn’t changed out of her day clothes and her hair is still pulled up into a clip at the base of her head. Takashi realizes with a wave of terrible, crushing guilt that she had stayed up waiting for him without any word of where he was, but still ready to act at a moment’s notice. 

The apology that had been bubbling up is cut off abruptly as Touko falls to her knees and pulls Takashi into her arms. One of her hands cradles the back of his head while the other is wrapped tight around his shoulders. In a jumble of rapid fire words, she says, “You’re here, you’re safe. Oh, thank goodness you’re safe. No one knew where you were and when Nyankichi came back home without you I just about sent a search team!” She pulls back to place her warm, soft hands on his cold, dirty cheeks and gasps. “Takashi what happened? You’re covered in dirt and blood! How badly are you injured? Do we need to go to the hospital?"

Her hands are moving now, framing Takashi's injuries and smoothing back his hair. He can't help but smile at her fretting. "I'm alright Touko-san. I just have some scratches that look worse than they really are.”

She huffs and replies, “I hope you’re right because you look terrible! Either way, we should get you cleaned up so that I can treat some of your cuts.” 

Touko stands and offers a hand to Takashi. He places his icy hand into hers and lets her pull him to his feet. As he stands, exhaustion falls upon him like a shroud and he stumbles into her side, supporting himself on her shoulder as the adrenaline fades fast since his numb legs have been pushed well beyond their limit. Touko wraps a steadying arm around his waist and guides him down the hallway toward the kitchen

Once Takashi is settled, Touko leaves briefly and returns with the first aid kit in one hand and a blanket in the other. Touko then proceeds to fuss over him which, if Takashi is being honest, is the best thing ever.

The blanket gets wrapped snugly around his shoulders and his bangs are pushed back so Touko can run a wet wash cloth over his face. She then treats his injuries with gentle hands and insists on using more bandages than strictly necessary. When she seems satisfied with her first aid work, she heats up the dinner that had been set aside for Takashi and gets to work on boiling water for tea. Any attempt Takashi makes to help is met with, "don't strain yourself Takashi" and "just focus on warming up!" 

When his meal is finished, and his tea is warming him from the inside, Touko sits down beside him. "Takashi I..." Her brows knit together as she ponders what to say, but Takashi already knows whats coming. He's heard this speech enough times from enough families that he could probably recite it by heart. How he's disruptive and a burden and a liar with no regard for the feelings of the rest of the family. How they can't take care of him anymore. Touko seems to find her words and Takashi tenses as she opens her mouth to say, “If I asked what happened, would you be able to tell me the truth?”

Anything Takashi could have said gets stuck in his throat. He knows that he can’t tell her, but in this moment, he fiercely wants to. She would believe him because she is kind and trusting and deserves to know why Takashi so frequently comes home with bruises. But also, she is kind and trusting and shouldn’t be involved with terrifying creatures that may try to take advantage of that. He can't bring himself to put Touko in danger through the knowledge of a world that she can't even see. So, Takashi lowers his eyes to look at the floor and shakes his head.

“Well then I won’t ask.” Takashi’s eyes snap back up to hers and sees nothing but understanding. “I would never make you lie to me just so I can pretend that I understand what happened. The only thing I will ask is that you tell me when you’re in trouble. If you can’t tell me, then tell someone else who I can talk to. All I want is to be able to find you and ensure that you always make it home safely.” She smiles so warmly, so softly, and Takashi is almost overwhelmed by the relief that comes from her understanding, the comfort that comes from her love.

Takashi doesn’t cry, but it is a very close call. Instead, he blinks through the itching behind his eyes and says a firm yet sincere, “I will” then a little quieter but just as sincere he adds, “Thank you Touko-san.”

Touko smiles even wider so her eyes crinkle at the corners and her dimples become prominent. She leans forward, pulls Takashi into a hug and Takashi wonders how long he will be allowed to keep this all encompassing sense of peace.

He closes his eyes and hopes for forever.

**Author's Note:**

> if touko finds out more about youkai you can bet she'll fight anything that hurts natsume whether or not she can see/interact with it


End file.
